Free feeding, or leaving a full bowl of dry dog food down for your dog, used to be a common practice among pet owners. Now we know it’s a bad idea – for many reasons.
- It’s difficult to get your dog’s “business” done on a regular schedule if he/she doesn’t have a regular feeding time. If Fido eats whenever he wants, he doesn’t have a regular time to eliminate, either.
- There’s no way of knowing exactly how much the dog is eating, or when. One of the first questions a veterinarian will ask at your dog’s check up is “Any change in eating or drinking?” If you’re free-feeding, there’s just no way to know.
- If you have more than one pet in the house, one may be a rather finicky eater, another may be a chow hound. With food always available, there’s nothing to keep one pet from eating the other’s food and another may not be getting an adequate amount.
- There’s an obesity epidemic among pets. If the bowl keeps getting refilled, and no one in the house is monitoring exactly how much the dog is getting, he may be getting much more than a healthy portion of food.
Getting your dog to eat his or her meals on a regular timetable may require an adjustment period. Prepare the food, leave it down for 10 minutes. That’s it. No healthy dog will voluntarily starve. It may take a few days for Fido to adjust to the new regime, but it’s better for his health and your schedule.
